In a new proposal, the government is proposing to lower the threshold for when the police can take up biometric data from individuals suspected of crimes.
Today, it is required that the penalty for the crime is expected to be imprisonment. The legislative proposal means that it will be sufficient if imprisonment is included in the penalty scale.
This means that the police will be able to take saliva samples from a suspect who is only expected to receive a fine.
However, this should not be done routinely, according to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M). He mentions, for example, crimes against the knife law and minor drug offenses.
These are crimes that often can be a gateway to more serious crime and may be linked to organized crime.
Genealogical Research
The proposal also suggests that the police, in certain serious crimes, should be allowed to compare facial images and fingerprints of unknown perpetrators against the Migration Agency's register of foreigners. This will give the police a broader basis for finding a suspect.
The government also wants to give the police the right to use DNA-based genealogical research in murder and aggravated rape cases.
The method was tested in a pilot project a few years ago to solve a high-profile double murder in Linköping. But the Integrity Protection Authority considered the procedure to be contrary to the law, and after the pilot project, it was stopped.
Today, there are around 800 unsolved murders handled by the police's cold case group. Gunnar Strömmer hopes that several of these crimes can be solved.
The government has not abandoned the idea of allowing the police to make comparisons with the passport register. However, a ruling from the European Court of Justice means that certain legal aspects need to be clarified, according to the government.
Once it has been clarified, it is our intention to return to that proposal and see if it is possible to also move forward with it, says Strömmer.
"Decisive Tool"
Another legislative proposal concerns secret data interception (HDA). The secret coercive measure was introduced in 2020 but was made time-limited for five years because the method involves such a significant infringement of integrity.
Now, the government wants to make the law permanent and also expand it slightly.
The police will be allowed to use HDA in more cases in order to investigate who can reasonably be suspected of a crime. Specifically, by, for example, turning on a mobile phone's or computer's camera to simply be able to see who is committing a crime from the device.
The government is submitting two different legislative proposals.
A proposal that suggests increased use of biometrics in crime fighting. These legislative changes are proposed to come into force on July 1, 2025.
A referral to the Council on Legislation that proposes to make the law on secret data interception permanent and expand it. These legislative changes are proposed to come into force on April 1, 2025.
